National version of anti-abortion Heartbeat Bill introduced in U.S. House

Ohio's Heartbeat Bill proposal sparked protests outside the statehouse in Columbus in December. Now a similar measure has been introduced in Congress that would apply nationally.

(Jackie Borchardt, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A national version of the "Heartbeat Bill," legislation that would virtually ban abortion, was introduced Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill, seen by advocates as a way to challenge the standards in Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is sponsored by Rep. Steve King, a conservative Republican from Iowa.

"Human life, beginning at the moment of conception, is sacred in all of its forms and today, I introduced a bill that will protect the lives of voiceless innocents." King said in a statement Thursday. "My legislation will require all physicians, before conducting an abortion, to detect the heartbeat of the unborn child. If a heartbeat is detected, the baby is protected."

Heartbeat legislation seeks to bar abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That can occur at about the sixth week of pregnancy - sometimes before a woman even knows she's pregnant and months before a fetus has reached a level of viability.

Viability is important because the Supreme Court has said restrictions that bar abortion prior to viability - general thought to be about 24 weeks - are an unconstitutional infringement on a woman's right to choose abortion.

Advocates for the Heartbeat Bill argue that a heartbeat is a clear sign that life exists and that the U.S. Supreme Court should adopt that as the new test for evaluating abortion restrictions.

"The heartbeat is a universal indicator of life -- it is time we recognize it across the board," Janet Porter, an Ohioan who is president of Faith2Action, said in a statement. "It's time we stop discriminating against the youngest members of the human family -- babies whose heartbeats can be heard."

Versions of the Heartbeat Bill have been introduced over time in 17 states, including Ohio.

Similar bills were approved in Arkansas and North Dakota. In both cases federal courts struck them down as unconstitutional and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeals.

Ohio's Heartbeat Bill, versions of which failed in two previous General Assembly, languished in the Ohio Senate for months after winning House approval early in 2015.

Then-Senate President Keith Faber, who now is a member of the House, said in December that Senate support for the bill was boosted in part because of the election of Donald Trump as president and the chance that the makeup of the Supreme Court could change.

King, in his statement, said the nation has a moral responsibility to protect human life.

"America was founded on the concept that our rights come from God. All human persons have a right to life," King said. "How then could we confer that those rights allow the killing of a baby?"